


A Night's Watch

by flashforeward



Category: Z Nation (TV)
Genre: Character Study, F/M, Gen, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:01:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24448510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flashforeward/pseuds/flashforeward
Summary: No one ever asks what 10K sees on watch.
Relationships: Addison Carver/Mack Thompson, Murphy & Roberta Warren
Comments: 6
Kudos: 29
Collections: Small Fandoms Fest





	A Night's Watch

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Deifire](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deifire/gifts).



> Written for Small Fandom Fest for the prompt "Z Nation, writer's choice, hooking up during a zombie apocalypse just leads to unnecessary drama"

Nobody ever asks what 10K sees when he’s up on watch. Sure he’s up there keeping an eye out for Zs and looters and all that shit, but there’s a lot you can spot when you’re keeping your eyes open.

Even if you’re not supposed to.

He sees Mac and Addy when they sneak away from camp  for time to themselves. He isn’t sure  about  the logistics of having sex in the wilderness during a zombie apocalypse. It seems like a lot of work for very little reward – well, maybe the reward isn’t so little...he’s never been entirely clear  on  the appeal, but most people seem to enjoy it .  Still, he won’t begrudge them their time together, off in the dark. 

It’s hard to be alone right now. It’s safer in groups, but there are caveats. First you have to find the right group. And if you _are_ in a group, it’s better not to go off on your own. 

10K doesn’t really remember school that well, but he’s heard analogies to the buddy system from other people – usually Addy – and it makes sense to him. You stay with your buddies to keep yourself and them safe and you tell your buddies where you’re going, how long you’ll be there, and what to do if you don’t come back.

What you don’t do is sneak away from your group in the middle of the night to have sex.

10K watches as Addy and Mac disappear into the dark and then he turns his attention back to the camp. He sweeps his eyes over Doc and Cassandra, curled up in the bed of the truck with bags for pillows, fast asleep.

And at the ill-advised but well needed campfire, Murphy and Warren sit in silence.

10K is too far away to know what kind of silence it is.

Their silences have been long, drawn out, and awkward lately and 10K is worried. As much as he doesn’t like Murphy, the cohesion of the group is important to their survival. He doesn’t miss being on his own. Sure he can survive solo, but having people is… It’s better. It feels better. It feels like there’s more of a point to surviving if he has people to share the experience with. Feels a little like the world is going to be okay.

Eventually.

He’s pretty sure if anyone is going to fuck that up, it’ll be Murphy, and he sincerely hopes the guy hasn’t completely burnt whatever bridges connected him and Warren. Getting Murphy to California is what drew this group together and 10K’s worried that if they lose that connection they’ll all scatter, go their separate ways. He doesn’t want that and putting up with Murphy is a small price to pay to hold on to his strange new family.

He shifts, looking out towards the horizon, scanning the perimeter. It’s probably not his business, whatever there is going on with Murphy and Warren.

That doesn’t stop him thinking about it. Wondering if it was something Murphy said or something he did. What straw is threatening their carefully constructed house of cards?

Or did they, like Mac and Addy, sneak off to have sex? Or did they _not_ sneak off to have sex? If what 10K has gleaned from Doc and Murphy is accurate, either could be the issue. 10K doesn’t know if it’s because he went through puberty during the zombie apocalypse or if it’s just something about him specifically, but he’s never understood the appeal of sex. Especially now. It seems a lot of effort and mess and all it ever really seems to do is dredge up drama.

M aybe that’s why 10K likes taking watch so much. Sitting up above everyone, keeping them all safe, with them but apart from them. He doesn’t have to try to navigate interpersonal relationships –  another thing he can thank growing up during the zombie apocalypse for .  He can manage  most people in small doses, and he has an ease with Doc that he’s never felt with anyone before, but being able to  be both a part of and apart from the group…  he likes that.

He flicks his eyes around the darkness at the treeline, searching for Mac and Addy.  He doesn’t know when they’ll be back, but he wants to keep an eye out for any hostiles near their location.  He has to keep his whole family safe.  For a long time, he thought he’d never know what family meant ever again. Thought his father’s death meant the word would be foreign to him for the rest of his life. Now that he knows that isn’t true, now that he has a new family, one he chose for himself,  he’ll do whatever he can to keep it.

The trees are quiet, the darkness still.

10K looks back over camp. Looks at Cassandra curled up into a tight ball, wishes she didn’t look so stressed even in sleep, wishes there was something he could do. Looks at Doc, all weed-induced relaxation,  probably complete with a smile . Looks over at the fire, at Warren and Murphy and they’re… they’re talking now. The silence broken. He hears Warren laugh, light and quick but real. Murphy turns his head away slightly, like he doesn’t want to ruin the moment by witnessing it.

So 10K looks away, too.

He might not like Murphy, but he’ll respect their privacy.

Something at the treeline moves and 10K is up,  his  gun at the ready, sighting down the barrel at the gap where he saw the movement.

Mac appears, head thrown back in a laugh, arm around Addy’s waist. She’s laughing, too. 10K lowers the gun and settles back  to waiting, enjoying this brief moment of  quiet . They don’t come very often between the zombies and the drama and Murphy being Murphy, so 10K will let himself be grateful  for it.

Tomorrow will likely bring more running and more death and more bullshit, but for now.

For now there’s peace.


End file.
